


A Tiny Trust

by SeekingIdlewild



Series: Tiny Colonel Chronicles [2]
Category: Stargate Universe
Genre: Ficlet, M/M, Pre-Slash, Shrinking, smol!Young
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-23
Updated: 2015-08-23
Packaged: 2018-04-16 21:05:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,377
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4640217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeekingIdlewild/pseuds/SeekingIdlewild
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>
  <i>Caring about Young had been inconvenient when he was bigger and stronger than Rush, but now that Young was less than four inches tall, suddenly 'caring' translated into 'extreme anxiety,' and anxiety was bad for Rush's concentration.</i>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Tiny Trust

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Fragged](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fragged/gifts).



Rush didn't know why his steps led him back to the infirmary the next morning. Or at least, he told himself he didn't know. He pretended to be ignorant of his own motives, because that was easier than admitting that Young, a habitual thorn in his side, had recently become a source of a different kind of vulnerability. He didn't want to accept that Young was important to him, _especially_ not now. Caring about Young had been inconvenient when he was bigger and stronger than Rush, but now that Young was less than four inches tall, suddenly 'caring' translated into 'extreme anxiety,' and anxiety was bad for Rush's concentration. So he didn't admit to those feelings. Whatever the cause for his visit to the infirmary, it certainly wasn't because he was worried about the diminutive colonel.

True, Young _had_ nearly died yesterday, and that realization would be enough to shake anyone. Rush wasn't stupid - he knew that the ventilation shaft in which he'd found Young represented a fatal drop for someone of Young's current size. If he hadn't set off looking for Young when he had - if he'd been even a minute or two later… Well, Destiny would be without her commander. It was a sobering thought, regardless of one's attachment - or lack thereof - to the commander in question.

So he tried not to question it when he ducked into the infirmary and looked around for the colonel. He saw Lieutenant Johansen first, leaning over a laptop, and after scanning the room carefully, he finally spotted Young sitting beside Lieutenant James in the center of a cot. They were both still miniature, and they were dressed in makeshift poncho-like garments apparently cut from spare bedsheets and hand-stitched into simple, wearable shapes. In addition to his poncho, Young was also still wearing Rush's microfiber cloth around his shoulders like a cloak. Rush tried very hard not to notice how appealing that little figure was, sitting cross-legged on the bed wearing a serious expression as he listened to what James was saying. He tried, but he failed.

"Can I help you?" Johanson interrupted his thoughts.

Rush glanced at her. "Ah, no," he said, not sure how to explain his presence. "I was just--"

"Checking on the colonel?" she guessed, and smiled ever-so-slightly.

He cursed inwardly and glanced over at the cot. Young had turned away from James and was watching him now. Waiting to hear how he would respond.

"I just wondered if you were any closer to figuring out how to reverse his condition," Rush said. Did he sound defensive? He thought maybe he sounded a bit defensive. Young was still watching him, his face impassive. Impossible to know what was going on in that head of his.

"Not really," Johansen sighed. "So far I can't find anything in the database about shrinking, or unshrinking, or size change in general. If you have any suggestions..."

Rush nodded absently, still distracted by the small figure on the cot. "I could probably create a search algorithm that would improve your results," he said.

"That would be helpful."

It suddenly struck him that there should be five miniaturized people in total. He could see only two. "Where are the others?"

"We're going with a buddy system," Johansen explained, returning her gaze to the laptop screen. "I thought that would be easier than making one person responsible for all five at once. Volker is with Brody, Inman is with Camile, and Dunning is with Rennie." She glanced up briefly. "I was thinking of asking Greer to look after the colonel," she added.

Greer? _Greer?_ She had to be joking. Rush could hardly conceive of a worse choice. "Oh, there's an idea," he muttered. "He has all the gentleness of a charging bull, so of course you'd entrust him with the safety of someone he could crush without a thought. Besides," he added, somewhat contradictorally, "doesn't he have Dr. Park to take care of?"

Johansen leaned her hip against the instrument table that held the laptop and offered him an unimpressed look. "Do you have any other suggestions?"

"Chloe," Rush said promptly. Perfect choice. He could trust her to keep the colonel safe. "Chloe could do it."

Johansen shook her head briefly. "I'm trying to pair everyone with their own gender for reasons I don't think I have to go into."

Rush felt his cheeks heating, and he stole another glance at Young. The colonel was clearly listening in on the conversation, but it was hard to tell what he made of it. "Right. Of course," Rush said faintly.

So far during their conversation, Johansen hadn't once looked back at the two little people on the cot. Rush wondered if that was purposeful, and what it meant. Was she embarrassed by Young's condition? Maybe she didn't like looking at him when he was so small and vulnerable. Certainly, it must be difficult for any soldier under Young's command to reconcile his authority with his current state of complete dependency. Taken in that light, wouldn't it be best if a civilian took charge of him? Specifically, a civilian with the objectivity to recognize that Young was still Young, regardless of of his size?

Rush didn't see that he had any choice. "I'll take him," he said.

Johansen's brows went up, but to his surprise, she didn't argue with him. "Is that okay with you, Colonel?" she asked, turning toward the cot and acknowledging Young's presence for the first time.

For the space of several seconds, Young looked endearingly befuddled. Then his face smoothed out again, and he shrugged. "Sure, if that's what he wants," he said, his tiny voice barely registering even from this short distance.

Johansen turned back to the laptop, waving a vague hand of dismissal in Rush's direction. "All right. Have a good day, and check in by radio every few hours to let me know how he's doing."

Dazedly wondering what he'd just gotten himself into, Rush nodded. He approached the cot slowly, his cheeks still burning. Damn it, he was _not_ embarrassed, or shy, or whatever other emotion was causing him to blush. This was no big deal. He could do this.

Young pushed himself to his feet and wobbled slightly on the unstable surface of the mattress. Rush offered him his hand, and Young climbed into it willingly, dragging his long 'cloak' behind him. He didn't hesitate, nor did he show the slightest sign that he didn't trust Rush to take care of him. On the contrary, there was something about the crinkling at the corners of his eyes that made him look… pleased. Or at the very least, contented. Rush felt his heart swell with inappropriate levels of affection and tried to tamp it down. No need to get carried away. He was holding a warm, wee bundle in his cupped hands, and maybe that bundle was important. Maybe it was even necessary to his peace of mind. Maybe he couldn't imagine what his life would be like without it.

But he didn't have to admit it.

 

* * *

 

"Okay," Vanessa said as TJ scooped her up a few moments later, "I owe you twenty bucks."

TJ grinned and gave her friend's head a light pat with her index finger. "I _told_ you."

"I don't know how you guessed that Rush would come for the colonel," Vanessa said, rubbing at her head in mock affront. "I thought they barely tolerated each other!"

TJ carried her small charge over to the instrument table and allowed her to disembark. Predictably, Vanessa immediately went to inspect the sharp objects. "Oh, I think it's been a long time since they only 'tolerated' each other," TJ said, then added, "Careful, Ness. I can't stitch you up if you hurt yourself."

Vanessa shot her a withering look that plainly said, _'I can be trusted with dangerous implements, thank you very much.'_ Still, TJ was happy to see that she kept a healthy distance between herself and the scalpels.

"What do you think will happen between them?" Vanessa asked.

"Well," TJ said thoughtfully, "I think they'll either be ready to kill each other by the end of the day, _or_ they're going to start figuring a few things out. We'll just have to wait and see."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! Kudos and comments are always appreciated, and be sure to visit me on [Tumblr](http://seekingidlewild.tumblr.com/) for writing updates and general fandom squeeing.


End file.
